


Exit Stage Left Pursued by Bears

by Th13f0fH0p3



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, M/M, Orphan Clementine, Theater AU, Uncle Lee - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 06:49:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19762804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Th13f0fH0p3/pseuds/Th13f0fH0p3
Summary: After an unfortunate accident with her parents, leaving Clementine and AJ orphans, they go to Texas to live with their Uncle Lee. While there, they go to Ericson's K-12 School for Academic Overachievers, where they meet some interesting characters. Eventually convinced by her uncle to join theater, Clementine gets a hell of a lot more than she bargained for.





	Exit Stage Left Pursued by Bears

**Author's Note:**

> Th13f0fH0p3 on Tumblr, where I first came up with the idea.  
> Also, been listening to Phoebe Bridgers lately so that's where the chapter titles will probably come from

Normally, Clementine is a fan of road trips. They’re an excuse to look sadly out the window with earbuds in, pretending like you’re in the music video of a sad song. Except this time... shit sucks, man. Every small bump or awkward brake would make her hold on for dear life, heart racing. AJ’s beside her, which wouldn’t be bad normally because she loves the kid, but he’s in the same boat as her, shell shocked, full of grief, and angry. In the driver’s seat is Lee, her uncle, who keeps sending furtive glances at them through the rear view mirror, which just makes her feel worse. He and their other (sort of) uncle, Kenny, are whispering in the front, but it’s not like she could hear them anyway. Clementine’s got her music blasting into her ears as if the vibrations would turn her brain to jelly so she wouldn’t have to deal with moving to Texas anymore. No such luck.

Sending a look over at AJ, she sees him in the same position he’s been in since he heard the news. Hunched over, knees pulled to his chest, face half buried in his legs, expression blank. She doesn’t blame him. Right after he started to get comfortable with them, this happened. He’d been like this in the beginning too, when she first met him. She thought he’d been difficult then, god, the way he was going to act once he stopped being a statue. And maybe this time, he won’t recover.

Part of her doesn’t think she will either. Sure, she’s doing fine now, or, not fine, but like, she’s not crippled with grief, she’s just numb. Lee promises that’s going to change, and that when it does, it’s going to hurt a lot. He’s never been wrong before.

Pulling into Lee’s gravel driveway, the change in life style is instantly thrust upon Clementine. It occurs to her that Daingerfield, Texas is nothing like Savannah, Georgia. For one, a gravel driveway? She’s torn out of her short train of thought when she notices Kenny turning in his seat to face her. Taking her earbuds out, she catches the end of his goodbye, giving her and AJ a soft, sad smile.

“Alright, Clementine, can you take your stuff inside? I’m going to get AJ out of the car,” her uncle looks at her via the window with tired eyes.

“Yeah,” she nods and gets out of the car, walking to the back and opening the trunk of the old wagon.

With minimal effort, she picks up her duffle bag and AJ’s small luggage, and then closes the trunk. Heading up the cracked cement stairs up to the screen door, everything feels kind of surreal. She’s been to his house before, of course, but the thought that she would now be living here for the rest of her foreseeable future, freaked her out. Doing some sort of move that really should have been impossible in jeans, she uses her foot to open the screen door and get inside. Without hesitation, she moves in further, moving through the kitchen and living room till she reaches the carpeted hallway and enters the room at the end. They’d already discussed living arrangements. She was to have her own room while AJ took the smaller one right below hers. 

She drops her brother’s luggage on the ground of his new bedroom and then turns on her heel to the stairs. Going into the door directly to her left, she takes in the area. It’s bigger than her old one, which she supposes she should be happy about, but most of the new space is taken up by a wooden desk which resides next to a window. Setting down her duffle bag, Clementine closes the door and flops onto the twin-sized bed, staring at the ceiling. On it are faded glow in the dark stars and the occasional butterfly, a ladybug sticker in the corner. When her gaze shifts lower to the door, she notices the door knob turning. She sits up just as Lee walks in wordlessly, settling his weight onto the edge of the bed.

“Hey, sweetpea…” He gives her his best attempt at a smile before leaning forward and crossing his elbows on his knees. “School’s going to be starting in a month, and before then, I wanted to see if you wanted to do anything.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I think I’m just going to stay home for the most part,” she turns and stares out the window for a second. “I’ll tell you if anything changes.”  
The sound of the bed creaking as he gets up is loud in the otherwise silent room. Before he leaves, he plants a kiss on her forehead and gives her a hug. His arms are tight around her shoulders, his chin resting on top of her head. After a few moments, he lets her go and leaves. It takes her a few minutes of silence to realize that she’s bored as hell. Changing into sweatpants and a muscle shirt, Clementine heads down the stairs, passing Lee in the kitchen.

“Going out on a jog,” she explains as she opens the screen door into the humid Texas outside.

“Be back in time for dinner!” Her uncle calls after her.

The street he-  _ they _ live on is made of dirt, and as she jogs, she notices that this is a common theme with the side streets. She passes through more residential areas, eventually making her way to a trailer park. There aren’t a whole lot of trailers parked, but the ones that are appear to be old and falling apart. In one of them emits loud, muffled voices and the sound of bottles being broken. A few seconds after the whole thing shakes, a blonde girl bursts through the door, slamming it behind her. The yelling gets louder until a man comes through the door holding a beer bottle in one hand, the other clenched. The girl, who had been walking away, turns and gives him the middle finger. He screams profanities so slurred Clementine can’t even recognize them as words as he stalks toward her. Now, maybe it’s not her business, but she’s never been a bystander, and she isn’t about to start being one. Sweaty from her jog, angry at the man, nervous of the consequences, she gets between him and the girl.

“Who the fuck are you?” He slurs, stumbling forward.

“Sir, I’m going to need you to take a step back,” the brunette holds up her hands in a non-threatening gesture.

“Get out of my way, kid,” his grip on the bottle tightens, making her even more nervous. “She’s my daughter, and she’s being a bitch. Now, get out of my way.”

“Please-” She starts as he reaches out to grab her.

Out of reflex, and because she hates this guy, she clocks him across the jaw. He goes down hard, the bottle dropping out of his hand and rolling to a stop at her feet. She stares at him for a couple seconds before a hand appears on her shoulder, the girl standing beside her, face twitching into a smile and then a frown, and then a smile again.

“Thanks,” she reaches down and picks up the beer, holding it out. “Your reward, Miss Knight.”

“Anytime?” Her voice is uncertain, but she takes the beer anyway.

“With that ass, sure,” the girl winks and then walks into the trailer, leaving the man lying on the ground.

Flustered and confused, Clementine decides to go back home. She hides the beer bottle behind her back as she passes through the kitchen, stowing it in a drawer upstairs. After she cleans that mess up, she changes back into her other clothes and lies on her back again, staring at the ceiling. All she can think about is that girl and the way she winked, her nose scrunching up and the freckles on her cheeks dancing. 

Two weeks later, Clementine is sitting on her bed, book in hand, when she hears commotion from downstairs. It'd been quiet so far, but she supposed it was going to happen eventually. Putting a bookmark in and closing the book, she takes it with her as she hurries down the stairs. As she goes, the sound gets louder until it's recognizable as AJ yelling. Gently pushing his door open, she sees Lee already in there, trying to calm him down. He's thrown some things and is still throwing things, picking up his few toys and clothes and flinging them at the tall man.

"Get away from me!" He's yelling, eyebrows furrowed and fists clenched.

"AJ, please," Lee is practically begging; he looks exhausted.

"No! Go away!" Another toy thrown, hitting their uncle in the leg.

"Hey, Goofball," Clementine walks in slowly, voice soft. "What's wrong?"

"I'm-" The dark look on his face dissolves almost instantly. "I'm sad, and I'm mad. I- I want Mom and Dad back."

"I do too," her throat constricts and her eyes sting. "But what do we do when we get angry?"

"We breathe," AJ responds, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Right," she moves closer until she's right in front of him, kneeling down. "We don't throw stuff at Uncle Lee, okay?"

"No, we don't. I'm sorry for throwing stuff at you, Uncle Lee," the six year old stares at the ground, suddenly ashamed of his behavior. 

"It's okay, AJ," Lee sighs. "I know it's been difficult as of recently."

Clementine nods, agreeing, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not right now," he shuffles awkwardly on his feet, fiddling with his hands. "Can you just stay with me for a little bit?"

"Of course," she smiles and pulls him into a tight hug. 

Finding the situation resolved, Lee shoots her a grateful look and leaves the two alone, closing the door behind him. As their first order of affairs, they clean up the room, putting AJ's clothes and toys back. The boy adamantly refuses to put his Disco Broccoli plushie away, holding him tight to his chest. Clementine ruffles his hair and calls him a goofball, and the two sit on the floor against his bed as she reads to him. After an hour or so, AJ starts yawning profusely, though he claims he's not tired. Minutes later, he's slumped over, snoring. Holding back a laugh, Clementine picks him up and lays him on his bed, spreading out a cover on top of him. With a kiss to his forehead, she leaves his room and heads to the kitchen, where she's bound to find Lee. 

The man is sitting down at the table, eyes closed, papers spread out in front of him. Unlike AJ, she can't pick him up and take him to bed, so she settles on tapping him on the shoulder till he wakes up.

"Oh, did I fall asleep?" He yawns, squinting at the light coming through the windows.

"Yeah, you did. Hey, I'll make dinner tonight, you go take a nap," she puts her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm okay, I just needed to rest my eyes," he gets up, towering over the short teenager.

"Nope, sorry. You've got to go get your rest, Lee," pushing him forward, she blocks him getting further into the kitchen. "You look like crap, now go take a nap. Ha, that rhymed."

Her uncle looks at her, unimpressed, before sighing, adjusting his wrinkled dress shirt, and relents, “Please don’t burn down the house, okay?”

She nods and shoos him away, making sure he’s gone before turning to the stove and muttering to herself, “I’m going to burn the house down.”

An hour or so later, Clementine has definitvely not burnt the house and has produced three bowls of Kraft© Mac’ n Cheese. When she gets the other two, she proudly presents her dish to them. AJ seems ecstatic, grabbing the ketchup and pouring it on (because he’s a psychopath), while Lee gives her a smile that looks like he’s about to start crying. Sitting down at the table, dinner is uneventful and the conversation that they engage in is about as interesting as taxes. Their uncle offers to wash the dishes, but again, Clementine blocks his way into the kitchen and does the dishes herself. Once she’s done, AJ finds her in her room upstairs, reading a book.

“Hey, goofball, what’s up?” She asks, setting down her book to look at him as he opens the door.

“Wanna watch a movie with me and Lee?” He’s dressed in his pajamas, holding his Disco Broccoli plushie. “We’re gonna have popcorn.”

“Heck yeah,” the teenager exclaims, making her little brother grin. “I’m going to get my pajamas on too, okay?”

“Yeah, see you downstairs, Clem,” he shuts the door and she can hear him thundering down the stairs, shouting something to Lee.

It only takes her a minute to change out of her clothes, heading down the stairs towards the living room. The light is off, the TV illuminating Lee’s long form sitting on the bigger couch, legs stretched onto the coffee table, a giant bowl of popcorn on his lap. To his right is AJ, a comforter covering the both of them. Clementine makes her way over and sits to the left of Lee. He wraps an arm and the rest of the comforter with it around her shoulders and presses play on the TV remote. And thus started the tradition of movie night. Every Friday night, the three of them got together and watched a movie or two. It started with AJ choosing first with  _ Rapunzel _ (the Barbie version), Lee with some unnamed war documentary he got from a blank CD case, Clementine with  _ The Breakfast Club _ , and so on. It was time spent destressing, from work and from school, and a time to just forget about the fact that they didn’t have parents anymore, and were stuck in Texas with their (cool) uncle.

Clementine stands in the driveway outside with Lee, holding keys and feeling like she’s going to die right then and there. They’d discussed it, of course. She had her license and a car, but ever since her parents… had their accident, even getting into a car had been difficult. On the way to Daingerfield, they had to stop every thirty minutes or so so that she could get out of the car and calm her nerves. Now, Lee wanted her to drive her and AJ to school. Shit.

From the other side of the car, her uncle gives her a reassuring smile and gestures to the car. Unlocking the car, she gets in the driver’s seat and puts the key in the ignition, turning it. As it roars to life, her grip on the steering wheel tightens till her knuckles turn white. Hands shaking, she puts on her seatbelt and makes sure Lee is in a similar position before putting the car into reverse and backing out of the driveway. She’s about halfway down the street when she hits a pothole and her barely-there control on her anxiety goes to hell. It’s only due to her experience in driving that she doesn’t slam on the breaks and jump out of the car and sprint away from it like it’s about to explode. She does, however, dig her fingernails into the leather steering wheel and holds her breath for so long Lee has to remind her to breathe. When she exhales, it’s a woosh of breath and when she inhales again, it’s quick and the next breath is uneven. The car slows to a stop in front of the intersection, and taking a quick glance around, she presses on the gas and gets them across safely. Beside her, she can see Lee’s pained expression out of the corner of her eye. After a minute or so of slow, unsure driving, she pulls over, puts the car in park, and gets out. Hands shaking, breath coming too quickly, she sits on the hood of the car and presses the heels of her hands into her eye sockets. She hears but doesn’t acknowledge the sound of Lee’s door opening and closing, feels his weight push the car down as he settles his weight next to her.

“There’s a driving school which, um, deals with things like this. It’s an hour outside of town but I don’t mind driving you there,” his voice is strained, as if he’s holding back tears. “It’s going to be okay, sweetpea. You’re going to get through this.”

“You don’t know that, Lee,” she throws her arms out, staring at the ground. “That shit could happen to  _ anyone _ . What if, just because, on the way to school, we get hit and AJ dies too? What the fuck am I supposed to do? I can’t just… ignore the fact that his life is in my hands whenever I drive around with him, especially when I’m like this. When I’m  _ weak _ .”

“Clem,” her uncle’s voice is full of emotion as he speaks. “You are not weak. You are a teenager dealing with the death of her parents, with a trauma. You are so, so strong, and I know you can get through this. I’m going to take you to those classes, and there is going to be a day where you can say your okay and mean it. Maybe not soon, maybe not within a decade, but I promise you, it  _ will _ happen.”

“I- fuck,” the cloth of her pants bunches up as she clenches her fists, taking a deep breath. “This sucks.”

“I know, sweet pea I know,” he wraps his arms around her, holding her close to his chest and even though neither start crying, they’ve never felt worse.

First day of school, and Clementine is trying to convince herself she’s going to be fine as she shoves her legs into a pair of jeans. With her shirt half buttoned, she rushes down the stairs, getting the last button just as she enters the kitchen, moving around in a flurry.

“Woah there,” Lee shouts, holding a pan of steaming eggs over her head as she nearly runs into him. 

“Sorry,” she apologizes, taking her place at the table next to AJ.

The young boy gives her a slightly disappointed look as Lee divides the eggs between the three of them, “You woke up late, Clem.”

“I know, I know,” she mutters, putting on her socks and straining to get her converse shoes near the door without getting out of her seat.

Sighing, Lee bends over and picks them up for her, “I guess it runs in the family.”

At that, AJ instantly becomes disinterested, shoveling the eggs into his mouth and spreading butter on his pancakes at the same time. His sister gives him a look of slight disbelief and mock disgust before picking up her own fork and doing the exact same thing. From the other side of the table, Lee practically inhales his food, finishing within seconds and getting up. He picks up the coffee pot and divides it into two cups, one of which he gives to Clementine. With a soft smile and a ‘see you later’, he gets in his car and heads to work. Pausing from the consumption of her pancakes, she downs half of the cup’s contents before wincing at the temperature. After a few minutes, she’s holding the keys to Katjja’s old Sedan. Lee only had one car, that being the wagon, and Kenny needed his truck for work, so she was stuck with this one. Not to say that she wasn’t grateful to the woman for letting her borrow it, it just wasn’t her car. No, that was being towed across the country toward her and would arrive within a week or two.

Getting into the driver’s seat and turning on the car, she feels nervous. It had been hard, even getting in a car after the accident, and now she’s trying to drive one again? Even with the classes she’d been taking, it wasn’t enough. She needed more time before AJ was with her, before she put the both of them in danger. The thought makes her hands shake and her anxiety skyrocket, but she keeps her face neutral as AJ climbs into the backseat. Through the rear view mirror, she gives him what she hopes is a reassuring smile, noticing his furrowed eyebrows and tight grip on the seatbelt. Taking a deep breath, she changes the gear shift into reverse and backs out of the driveway, trying not to have a panic attack. 

Ten or so minutes later, she pulls up to Ericson’s K-12 School for Academic Overachievers. She turns the car off, glancing back at AJ, who strains his neck to look at the building. It looks old and almost church like, which makes her hate the place instantly. Lee says it isn’t so bad, but when he said it he had that look on his face that she quickly became adept at deciphering. The look that says ‘I’m bullshitting you so hard right now but I swear it’s for your own good’. So when she walks up the path to the main entrance, holding AJ’s hand in her own, she smiles down at him with the same look. Thankfully for both her and her uncle, he hasn’t figured out the look yet. She really couldn’t stand the sight of him making that face at her, as if she were the six year old and he was nearly the legal adult.

When they enter the building, she stalls. Clementine wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it wasn’t a long line of kids waiting for their schedules. With a sigh, she kneels down and waits for AJ to get onto her shoulders. As his familiar weight settles onto her, she grabs his legs and stands up slowly.

“Do you see a sign with the last name E?” She asks him, glaring at anyone who dares to look at her weird.

“Uh, yeah, over there,” following the direction of his pointed finger, Clementine pushes her way through some of the longer lines to find a pretty short line at the E sign.

After confirming they’re in the right place, she sets AJ down, making sure they’re still holding hands. Once they move up enough, the woman at the table looks up at them, tired.

“Grade and name, please?” She starts shuffling through papers even though they haven’t said anything.

“Everrett, Alvin Junior, First Grade,” Clementine gestures towards her brother at the woman’s confused look.

“Hm,” she furrows her eyebrows for a second before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to AJ. “Your home room teacher is… Ms. McClung in room 103, to your left. Now, you are?”

“Everrett, Clementine, Twelfth Grade,” the teenager responds, clearing her throat.

“Lee’s kids, huh? Didn’t think he had any. Well, here you go,” the woman thrusts out a piece of paper and then waves them away.

“Um, Lee’s not-” As Clementine goes to correct her, she’s already talking to the next student. 

Sighing, she notices a tug on her arm and allows herself to be pulled by AJ, who starts walking down the hallway. The two walk past kids sitting on the ground, a few looking stoned, people just standing in the middle of the hallway, and one guy who’s doing cartwheels. After a short amount of time, they find themselves in front of room 103, and they go in. They find a quiet classroom, the carpet a dark blue and a group of kids drawing on the floor. Watching them is a woman with brown hair and a kind smile, who looks up at their entrance.

“Hello there, my name is Carley McClung but you may call me Ms. McClung, who are you two?” The woman walks over to them, smile still on her face.

“I’m Clementine and this is my brother, AJ,” Clementine introduces herself, gesturing towards AJ, who looks at the woman cautiously.

"Well hey there, AJ. Do you like to draw?" She kneels down, and at her question, his eyes get big and bright. "The other kids are over there if you want to join them."

"I like drawing," he nods, looking at his sister for assurance.

Squeezing his hand, she gestures towards the group of kids, "It's okay. I'll see you after school, okay?"

The small boy narrows his eyes at her as he turns to go, "Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise," she affirms, holding out her pinky, interlocking it with his. "Don't cause any trouble, okay?

"Got it," he grins and then goes over to the other kids.

Carley watches him for a moment before turning back to Clementine, "Lee Everett's niece and nephew right?"

"That's us," she shifts uncomfortably, preparing herself for the look of pity.

"I'm sorry about your folks, but I think you'll find that it's not as bad as you think around here," to her surprise, the look never comes, just one of genuine sympathy and kindness.

“Oh um, thanks,” the teenager gives her a small smile before awkwardly waving and exiting the room.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she holds her sheet of paper up to her face and looks at her first period class. AP Biology, room 304 with Mr. Lingard. Looking around for the nearest staircase, she pushes through a small group of kids and jogs up the stairs, passing a few kids who look like they’re about to throw up, and makes it to the third floor. To her left, she sees the room 308 and heads in that direction, passing classrooms with numbers counting down till she reaches 304. With anxiety bubbling in her throat, she pushes the door open and is met with a nearly empty classroom. The man she presumes to be the teacher, a tall, stick-like man wearing dirty glasses and a frown greets her with a nod. She raises her hand to wave back but finds that he’s already looking away, typing on his laptop. Squinting at him slightly, she can see the discoloration of the skin around his pursed mouth, his general pallor, the red tint of his eyes, barely obscured by his glasses. Was he… high? Ignoring him for the moment, she starts walking to the back of the classroom, looking around at the few other kids in the classroom.

Sitting on the opposite side of the classroom is a girl with fire for hair, nearly shaved on one side and almost chin length on the other. The bags under her eyes are the same color as her clothes, black. She’s chewing on what appears to be a piece of bubblegum, blowing it out and popping it. Closer to the door is another girl with red hair, although it’s shoulder length and is slicked back. As Clementine passes her, she gives a small smile screaming with anxiety, her body language tense and shoulders hunched. It’s when she’s sitting down at the second to last row on the right side of the room that the door bursts open and in pops in a teenager with short dreadlocks and a grin on his face.

“I’m here, I’m queer, eat shit heteros!” He yells into the silent classroom.

Out of instinct, Clementine responds by punching her fist in the air and a loud, “Gay rights!”

“Hell yeah!” The boy’s grin gets wider, somehow, as he walks over to her. “I’m Louis, who are you?”

“I’m Clementine,” she answers, blinking hard, watching his mouth twist into something shit eating.

“Oh my darling, oh my  _ darling _ -” He gets through three seconds of the song before he’s stopped with a heel in his stomach. “God, you’re a violent one, aren’t you?”

“So I’ve been told,” she shrugs and then after a moment of watching him struggle for breath, winces. “Sorry about that, I just really hate that song.”

“It’s fine,” he wheezes, forehead stuck to the table. “You remind me of someone I know, actually.”

“A friend, I hope?” The brunette quirks an eyebrow.

“She would deny it, but she’s my best friend, actually,” his hand pushes his upper half up off the table so she can see his impossibly wide grin. “Here’s hoping we have a similarly prosperous friendship.”


End file.
